zipher36

I emailed you back with my actual email address! (just in case it went to spam!)  Thanks so much!

7 hours ago, ak1004 said:

 

Exactly my thoughts!

Completely off topic but I was reading your posts in a different thread and wanted to PM you re: experience with Oceania but obviously that function doesn't work.  Any chance you could shoot me an email in my signature (it's a throwaway email account so i don't get spammed but i promise to email you back with my real email address). Cheers!

5 hours ago, LHT28 said:

So  they follow the leader  

Not  booking & navigating  the trip on their  own  which is  a big  deal

 

some people need more hand holding than others

JMO

 

Unfortunately this has been the case previously.  They've never had to do it on their own as they tend to travel with a group of friends.

They will get to attempt a dry run at this when they sail on their own with Holland America from Vancouver to San Diego.  Crossing my fingers! Haha

I do appreciate everyone's input.  I have a much better understanding of how "flights + transfers included" work in the cruise industry.  I just want to make sure they have a fabulous time from start to finish.

4 hours ago, LHT28 said:

Are your parents experienced travellers?

Be sure they fly in a day or more early  they can just grab a taxi at the airport  or arrange  private car service  for them with meet & greet  option

 We are able to still in our  70's  manage  finding our way  but some  people are not  as savvy

 

Talk to your parents & their comfort level is what is most important

They are experienced travellers but they've always joined tours and/or have had the luxury of traveling with one of their TA friends who knows all the ins and outs of travel.  Unfortunately, she has retired and they're on their own this time 🙂

5 hours ago, Hlitner said:

So you have two basic choices (and should compare both).  Certainly call "O" and tell them about your concernsnand listen to what they can offer (in terms of flights and cost).  And then go onto a major search engine (Expedia, Orbitz, ITA Matrix, etc) for the best options that meet your critieria.  There is just no way we would trust O (or any other cruise line) to make our air decisions!  You make the decisions, and then compare the pricing/terms.

 

Teaching them to use Uber/Lyft and showing them how to use the apps (assuming they can deal with a smartphone) is a great idea for anyone.  Another option would be to pre-book a private transfer (and have somebody waiting, holding a sign with their name) although, they should still be advised what to do if the transfer does not show (or is not found).

 

At times, I feel a little sorry for our Canadian neighbors, since it often seems that the options are more limited.  We have 6 airports within reasonable driving range, so when we need to do longer international flights we will compare the options at all of those airports looking for price, our favorite airlines, hardware, and non-stop or the fewest connections).  These days I will often drive 3 hours to an airport just to get a non-stop flight on a decent airline.  As millions have learned in the last couple of years, airline connections can create some major issues.

 

Hank

 

 

Yes, I agree, knowing how to use Uber/Lyft is a MUST these days!  I might resort to booking a private transfer so that they don't have to stress about transportation after 15-20 hrs in the air.

I did confirm with the TA that I can opt out of the flight package and reinstate it up to 90 days before sailing.  This gives me a few weeks to consider any seat sales and also zero in on flights with decent connections.  If I find something good, then I'll arrange flights myself and not have to deal with O.

4 hours ago, Hlitner said:

By the way, since another poster just mentioned cruise line Hotel Packages, our experience is that we can generally book the same hotel (assuming we would want that hotel) and pay for transfers for about half the cost of the cruise line package.  Many folks forget that when they see the cruise line package price the real cost is double (for two persons).

 

Hank

I can understand if there is a 20-25% markup for the convenience factor, but double the cost is ridiculous.  These cruise lines are also able to block off rooms at wholesale rates so their profit margins must be even higher.

4 hours ago, LHT28 said:

Have you considered the  Hotel package option with O it is PP but includes transfer to the hotel & to the ship

 Then ask for  the flights & pay the deviation fee to get the nonstop flights

It may be more expensive in the hotel end but maybe cheaper  for the flights & less hassle for your parents

https://www.oceaniacruises.com/australia-cruises/sydney-to-sydney-REG240125/hotels/

 

Do the math  & see what works best

Do not forget the e Visas for  both Countries

 

I could not believe how much I was being quoted for their hotel option

INTERCONTINENTAL SYDNEY $908 pp for 2 nights
OR
SHANGRI-LA HOTEL, SYDNEY $1018 pp for 2 nights

If I book Intercontinental myself, it's $350 per night and Shangri La is only $275 per night.   That is a 60-75% difference.

Even if I were to book hotels via Oceania, I'm not convinced they would still put the passengers on the direct flight. I think it would require a deviation fee + air differential fee.

2 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

One of my "pet peeves" is cruise line transfers and how we avoid (unless absolutely necessary) like the plague.  It is not about O or any specific line, since all the cruise lines simply contract with land-based providers.  The few times we have used cruise line transfers have all been lousy (or overpriced) experiences.  Some have been completely outrageous (such as when we tried to use Celebrity transfers in Buenos Aires).  And than there are the folks who get duped into cruise line transfers for places like Port Everglades to FLL...that defy any logic!

 

And here is another current day example.  Take cruises that debark in one of the NYC area ports where some folks (mostly non-Americans) book cruise line transfers to JFK!  They sit around waiting for their bus to fill, the luggage to be loaded, and then they are off for the long ride.  But the problem is that JFK has 8 different terminals, and most are not close to each other!  Ideally, your transportation would drop you at your specific terminal, which is what happens if you grab a taxi, Uber, or arrange for a private transfer (often called "Black Car Service" in NYC).  But what most buses do is drop everyone at "Federal Circle" which is where you must catch the AirTrain.  This means dragging your own luggage to the platform, on the airtrain, off the train, and sometimes a very long way within the terminal.  And to make matters much worse, the Airtrain station at Terminal 1 (used by many international airlines) is closed (construction).  So, for those that have a flight out of Terminal 1, they must take the airtrain to Terminal 8, take themselves (and their luggage) downstairs, and than be directed to the temporary shuttle bus stop where you must load yourself and luggage onto a shuttle bus to get to Terminal 1!   And this is just an example of one airport!  ARGH!  Also consider they could have taken an Uber (probably about $100) for about the same price (or less) than that cruise line transfer!

 

Hank

This sounds horrifying.  You would think that the higher end cruise lines would make more of an effort to make this as seamless as possible.  First impressions matter! This could make or break a passenger's decision to book another cruise with the same line.  

1 hour ago, Hlitner said:

I will take it one step further and relay our own experience with "O" air.  To be blunt, we are not impressed...especially when it comes to those of us who book international business class or premium economy.  To make matters ever worse, "O" is not a good option for those of us who combine cruises with longer pre/post cruise land trips.  In our case, this usually means flying home, weeks after a cruise, from places other than the ports.  Our upcoming Vista cruise ends in Trieste, but we wanted to fly home from Milan about 2 weeks after the cruise.  Using O for this kind of thing is ridiculous because we would need to pay an extra fee and their prices for business/premium tickets seem to be about the same as we can buy on our own (without the extra fees).

 

On the other hand, when booking products like Seabourn, HAL, etc. those cruise lines have excellent online air booking capabilities (with no extra fees) and often have fantastic discounts on business class (50% is not uncommon).  That has long been our major reason for not having cruised on O.  Last year we took a Seabourn cruise from Miami to Monte Carlo, from where we started a several week independent land trip.  After that trip we wanted to fly back to the USA from Prague.  With Seabourn that was no problem and we snagged United/Lufthansa Business class tickets for $1000 (one-way) by using Seabourn's air.  That would not happen with O.

 

Hank

 

Really appreciate your insight.  In my case, I'm booking for my parents and they're just looking for economy seats but am really worried O Air is going to book them on a multiple connection + unreasonable layover (either too short or too long) segment from YVR-SYD.  Ideally they would be on the direct Air Canada flight but it seems highly unlikely due to the current prices of $3300. (Flight credit offered by O Air is currently $2300)  They're not too tech savvy so the included transfers to/from airport seem like a no brainer but maybe I should just teach them to use Uber since the airport is only 12 km to the city centre.

2 hours ago, Sthrngary said:

I don't know what an open jaw ticket unless it is booking the ticket with Multiple destinations.  Here is my situation and is my only experience.  I hope it is helpful to some.  

 

Oceania decreased their fare by $1,000.00 for my guests air ticket (total of $2,000) if I did my own airfare.  I took that money and booked a Fully Refundable Delta Airline Ticket from Alabama to Athens, Greece.  Returning from Barcelona, Spain to Alabama. The booking was done 330 days in advance because that was when Delta opened up the dates.  I did this to get the best price. 

 

The ticket price was $1,150.00 per passenger round trip.  We then purchased Cruise Trip Insurance which is important to know.  I now did not need a Fully Refundable Fare so I rebooked it for $850.00 each.  I used the savings to upgrade when it became available to First class on the domestic flights.  

 

I am NO EXPERT but If you book early enough, the price is VERY competitive, I choose my seats, and controlled my reservation throughout this process.  

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment. 

Do you mind elaborating on why Oceania offered you a "discount" for booking your own flights?  Or are you referring to selecting the cruisefare only option over the cruisefare + air option?  Thanks!

I'm looking at the Sydney to Sydney - New Zealand Discovery 14 day (Jan 25-Feb 8 ) Regatta cruise and would be flying from Vancouver and I'm trying to figure out if I should take the flight option or receive a $2300 CAD credit and book my own flights .  Direct flights via Air Canada from YVR-SYD are ~ $3300 CAD so it seems very unlikely that Oceania Air would put me on that flight.  Connecting flights either through SFO or Fiji are ~$2300-2500 so this seems like a much more likely option but the layovers vary wildly from 1 hr to 12 hrs.  It would seem ridiculous to pay the $299 per person custom air request to get a better connection.  Just not sure how "lenient" Oceania Air is to at least picking a more reasonable connection time (3-4 hrs) so that I don't have to stress about making it on the connecting flight.  Really appreciate everyone's input!

Is it fair to say that generally for cruises that embark/disembark at the same port, you're better off booking your own flights but if you embark/disembark at different ports, Oceania can provide better value due to the cost of 2 X 1 way tickets?

23 minutes ago, basor said:

The drink package includes gratuities on the drinks....the $18 - 23 gratuities pp is for the cabin stewards, waiters, and the behind the scenes employees.   Two different things,..  if you order a drink that is not part of the package then you will be automatically charged a gratuity which will be reflected on the bar bill you sign.

Thanks so much for the quick reply!  I know that some cruise lines (I know of NCL) will offer these "free" drink packages but they're not actually free because you have to pay additional 18-20% gratuities on the package value which can easily add an additional $15-20 pp pd in drink gratuities regardless of whether I drink anything or not!

I tried searching the forums but couldn't find an answer and hoping someone can chime in.

If I opt for the Simply More package which includes "Free Champagne, Wine and More valued at up to US$2,800 per stateroom", do I need to pay additional gratuities on the included drink package?  Or should I just be expected to pay the $18-23 (depending on the cabin) pp pd plus whatever additional gratuities I want to give over and above?  Thanks!